Biting update: where we are and what worked

I’m crossing my fingers that I’m not jinxing myself. But Jace hasn’t bitten anyone in two weeks! Whoohoo! I can’t tell you how big of a relief this is. I no longer have to hover over him 24/7 in case his Dracula tendencies came out on the playground.

Honestly, I’m not sure what it was that worked. But here’s what we did, and hopefully it’ll help you. Every night we would read “Teeth Are Not For Biting.” When he did bite someone, we didn’t yell or hit. We just said “No sir, teeth are not for biting.” We made sure we didn’t overreact. We’d say “That hurt mommy.” He’s got amazing teachers at school who helped with this. A few people joked that we should bite him back. We didn’t do that because that little rascal would find it funny.

Again, I’m not sure which portion made the difference for him. It took about three weeks for him to kick the habit. As a result, he began to talk more, and understand direction more. I think this has also helped with the frustration.

Now that I’ve written this, he probably bit someone at school today. But it’s a great reminder that everything with kids is a stage. Some stages are quick; some are longer. Try not to get frustrated, because it’s just their way of learning. Hope this helps anyone else out there with a kiddo that’s struggling with biting.